Copyright ©2020 by Creole Gaudet. All rights reserved.
No part of this chronicle may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system – except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper – without permission in writing from the publisher, Creole Gaudet.
Sway tore the phone from her hand, tossing it to the gravel.
A grin tugged at the corner of Cami’s mouth. She looked at me and then at Sway. “How am I going to fit in a Corvette?”
“Come on, I’ll show you.” Sway grabbed her hand.
As the two jammed in, Sway was pressed firmly against the center console. Cami struggled to close the door. I reached over, palming the window frame, and forced it shut.
I checked the rear view mirror as we tore away, watching the young pimp throw up his hands.
“Cami, this is my man…Andre. He’s sweet as fuck, girl. You’re going to love this motherfucker. He saved me. I swear before everything I love, without this man, I’d be busted up more than you are or dead.
“He don’t ever put his hands on me. All he do is love me, and I love him back. I’ve never felt this way in my whole life. I dream about this motherfucker in my sleep!”
From my periphery, I could see Cami eyeing me from her good eye. Her head hung low. “I know you’re just telling me that, Sway. I know the game. But you don’t have to… I’m down.”
“Bitch.” Sway laughed excitedly. “I’m not lying. I’m telling you…one hundred.”
“All pimps hit their bitches when they fuck up…”
“When did I say he was my pimp? I said he was my man.”
Cami broke into laughter. “You’re too much, Sway. That’s why I always loved you.”
“Okay, don’t believe me, bitch. You’ll see.”
“Where are we going? Are you about to put me down somewhere?”
“Bitch, didn’t I just tell you he ain’t no fucking pimp?! We ’bout to get your skinny ass something to eat. You’re not smoking that shit, are you?”
“Sway! No, bitch!” The two broke into laughter.
KNOCKOUT SPORTS BAR – NORTHWEST HIGHWAY – 5:23 p.m.
I again had the Knockout Burger, and Sway ordered the Uppercut for her and Cami.
I sat listening as the two exchanged stories from the stroll and who’s who and where this one and that one were.
I hadn’t realized how out of place Cami looked in her street clothes until the two excused themselves to the restroom.
Sway returned. “Baby, are we okay?”
“Are you talking about an extra mouth to feed when I don’t have coke to sell and we’re short on money? Is that what you mean by am I okay?”
“Baby, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have put this on you without talking about it, but I had to. I couldn’t let this opportunity…”
“Where is she going to stay?”
“She can stay with us. We don’t want her alone right now because she’ll go back to her pimp.”
“And?”
“If he didn’t kill her before…”
“I know, I know… But every girl out there has a story, Sway. You can’t save them all.”
“But I used to fuck with Cami. We had different pimps, but we got along. I never tried to pull her, and she never tried to pull me. We were cool like that.”
“I guess so… This is your area of expertise.”
“I’m going to school, you, Daddy.”
“You’re clever as fuck, Sway.”
“What do you mean?”
“I wasn’t even ready for your ass… You’ve been turning me out this whole time, and I didn’t even see it.”
“No, baby. I’m just doing what I know how to do to get you to where you want to be.”
“Is that what it is, Sway?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Is this pimping thing just about getting me to my goals, my dreams? Or is it something in you? Are you trying to win?”
“Being turned out and then wanting to go back in and run shit? Like the abused becoming the abuser?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
Cami returned, taking her seat. “I’m sorry, did I interrupt something?”
Sway turned to her. “We were just talking.”
“I don’t want to cause you any problems, Andre…”
I looked to her. “You’re fine, Cami. Everything is okay.”
“I can hold my own… I can pull better than any bitch out there. I was bringing in no less than two bands a day. On Fridays and Saturdays, I brought at least three or four thousand.
“And I know you’re not a pimp. You’re a true Mack. You have respect for bitches. I like that.”
I looked to Sway. She turned her head, looking out the window. Cami continued. “She told me that you had a goal.”
“She did?” Sway looked to me. “She told you all that, huh? Everything?”
“Yeah. You want that new Bentley Continental Coupe GT in red…” She looked to Sway. “In red, right?”
“Yeah. I hear him in his sleep talking about it all the time.”
“That’s about two hundred… I can make you half that in three months, Daddy.”
Sway cut in, “Sooner than that. When her face heals up… You can see how beautiful she is, Andre. I’m going to take her to work with me.”
“At Big John’s? What about clothes? She’s going to need…”
“We’re the same size, baby… After we get some food in her.” Cami grinned. “I have more than enough. She can share with me.”
I looked to Sway. “So I talk in my sleep, huh?”
“Yup. I also know that you dream just as big for me, too. All the diamonds you want for me, and how beautiful you think I am. How much you love me…”
Cami teared. “Aww, that’s so sweet. If I didn’t believe you before…”
“Yup… I know everything about my man, and I love him more than he’ll ever know.”
“You got me crying, bitch… My fucking eye hurts when I cry.”
Creole Gaudet
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